Human Nature
by burnttea
Summary: An insight of the extremities of human nature. Rated T. May be subjected to change. Modern AU


Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA

This story is written in a darker tone than the original show. It is an AU with undecided pairings, in addition, the characters' age could range from early 20's to early 30's, it all depends on your own interpretation. A warning to those who read this story, the initial rating will be T, but it may change if the story takes a darker turn.

* * *

TESTING THE LIMITS

* * *

"_You are going way too far Avatar,_" says the beautiful woman in blue.

The tall man in front of her stares back, his strong shoulders are pulled back, and his arms' wiry muscles contracts in anger, "_Right! This is not going too far?! You were the one who slept with Mr. Scarface! That man tried to assassinate me dozens of times, and you go do hanky-panky with him!_"

"_I was drunk. It was a party and I wasn't thinking straight. I thought he had a change of heart,_"

"_But that monster didn't! What's even worse was your boyfriend, that lying hypocrite, Jet._" A scowl flushes over his handsome face as he rudely and indirectly insults her.

"_**Ex**__-boyfriend,_" she says with her brilliant blue eyes blazing in obvious anger.

"_He almost murdered an entire town!_ _What __**is**__ it with you and crazy men?"_ He nearly roars in his low baritone voice.

She vehemently glares at the tall, athletically built man. She grumbles out, "_Ok, I'm sorry. But you aren't so innocent yourself mister! You're the one having a fling with a __**married**__ woman, On ji,_"

"_She's just a friend._" Whispers the tattooed man.

"_And that little annoying girlfriend of yours from Kyoshi…what was her name?_"

"_Again, she's just a friend._ _She's not important._"

"_Right…that's what they always say,_" – he heaves a sigh, while she continues to hiss out – "_besides, Haru is not crazy, in fact he's very considerate._"

The tattooed man quietly curses under his breath, "_Yeah, the girly man who grew a beard to prove a point…_"

"_Since when did Haru become your enemy? Last time I recalled, he was your buddy,_"

_mumble_

"_What?_"

_grumble_

"_Aang, if you're going to say something –_ "

The Avatar glances away from her and in an ashamed voice, he speaks quietly, "_it's none of your business." _He turns away to leave the room, but his exit is stopped by the firm grip that is grasping his thick shoulders.

He swiftly turns about to her, and is shocked to see her offended expression, "_NONE of my business? You mean NONE of your business!_"

He opens his mouth in utter shock and confusion. No cohort words escape his mouth.

"_How dare you imply that I'm nosy. You hypocrite_, _you were the one who deliberately cancelled my Ba Sing Se University interview! You've been digging through my stuff haven't you?_" She loudly accuses him.

The sudden change in subjects confuses him, "_No, I haven't._ _What does that have to do – _", he stops. Then, looks shocked and stutters out, "_How did you know…?_" couldn't he have said something else? At least he could've lied to cover his ass…but on the other hand, he, himself was never good at lying.

"_That doesn't matter. But what does, is, why are you so concerned?_"

The powerful Avatar's image becomes slightly insecure when the woman posed a personal question. He completely forgets his anger towards her and uncomfortably replies, "_um…_" No lie can escape her.

Suddenly, Sokka, her husky older brother busts into the room. His unexpected intrusion creates an awkward silence that slices through the tense atmosphere. His voice, deep and gruff, "_You guys are so damn loud! I can hear you guys screaming at each other from downstairs._", Aang and Katara looks away from each other's eyes, "_But whatever you guys WERE arguing about, put a cork in it, 'cause we got BIG problems. C'mon!_"

The apprehensive waterbender and the Avatar refuse to face each other eye-to-eye as they quietly exit the room to another.

* * *

"_Seems like you guys had another sissy fight_," Toph calmly states.

"_It's not a sissy fight nor is it your business_." Katara huffs out and glance to the side as if it were true. The monk merely looks like he needed to go blow off some air and glides out the suffocating room to the balcony.

The older man from the sidelines lets out an expected sigh and walks over to his sister; he places a hand on her shoulder and leads her to the corner for a small talk. Aang can't but feel almost guilty for causing such a distressful atmosphere. Just almost; he couldn't hold his anger, and it felt almost…relieving.

Life is too **dramatic**.

But it's a constant, and it can never be changed; for one thing, it's what keeps the world somewhat engaging and entertaining. Aang has often wish that this simple philosophy also applies to love.

Love can certainly drive a person to insanity and force the most rational person in the world to do the most irrational. As cliché as it may sound, Aang would do just that for **her** if it meant that he must do the impossibilities. He supposes love is an out of control emotion (_That is an understatement_) or rather it has a conscience of its own when fully developed, he also supposes it could be gift or rather a terrible curse. Either way, he is powerlessly in its grasp, and doomed to follow its orders until his death.

But of course, It's easier said than done. There are times when Aang really, really just wanted to…**pinch** some sense into **her**, especially when it comes to flirting (She's clueless). Somehow, she seems to be only oblivious to him. Normally, he is polite and patient enough to overlook her **oblivious** demeanor to his obvious intentions, however, occasionally Aang would snap, and today is one of those rare days.

A rough pat shatters his discontent train of thoughts. "Give _Sugar Queen a break, sure she can be as sharp as a machete, and yet as dull as…well you get my drift right?"_

The gloomy man says nothing, and continues to stare out into the dying sun of dusk.

"_I'm guessing my training didn't help huh?_" She takes another swig of whatever she's drinking – he's guessing it's vodka since he can smell the overpowering sweet aroma.

"_No…I did exactly what you grounded into my brain all those years ago – I faced her head on – and all she did was pretended it never happened…All I did was kiss her, and she just stood there; I left before she could say anything._"

Toph calmly place the glass down, and then promptly punch the Avatar in the ribs. _Thump!_

He wheezes out, "…_damn it Toph, what the hell - ?_"

"_You idiot student of mine!_" she slaps his head; "_You're not suppose to leave a girl alone after you've kissed her. I can't believe I'm even talking to you._"

The man rubs his head to relieve the swelling. "_But, she didn't say a thing after 5 minutes. I…I got afraid…and booked out of there a.s.a.p._"

The woman massages her temples and sighs. "_Shit…well what's done is done; you didn't even do damage control. I'm guessing this happened not too long ago?_"

"_Nope, it actually happened 5 years ago. Well, she did kinda hint that she wasn't ready for a relationship, so I backed off; few weeks later, she has a boyfriend named Jet. Then it continues on, all the way to Haru, not mention a few other exceptions_."

Toph closes her eyes, and notes that the Avatar's heartbeat slowed down, as if he just delved into a deeper state of depression. "_Hmmm…that's…I'm amazed, I'm actually speechless._" She takes another swig and scratches her nose. The Avatar quietly ponders more of his stalemate situation.

"_All it was a small squabble, but I don't even know how it escalated to a full on verbal attack. I think it started when Haru called._" The Avatar clicks his tongue.

"_Well, I don't blame you for screaming at her, I mean 5 years of unrequited love, that's harsh; but I don't blame Katara as well. She never did lead you on, and you too had some weird one-night stands, like with that married woman, On Ji. Plus, isn't she the wife of some army dude? Either way, she's a big no-no to go for quick flings._"

The man stays uncharacteristically silent, with no smile to grace others.

"_Maybe_ _you should try one last time, one more proper confession. Maybe soon if things go well for Sugar Queen and Beardy._" Toph reaches within her pocket, pulls out a piece of gum, and flicks into her mouth. Aang then rejects her gesture of offering a piece of gum (which he never does, since he loves anything sweet). He must be damn depressed to reject gum, she thought.

Aang dips his head low, "_I don't know anymore, with my job and duty, I really don't know anymore. I mean, everyone has their limits, even the Avatar has limits, and I think I'm just about to reach mine._"

For once, in a long time, Toph empathizes the disheartened man.

* * *


End file.
